PRAGMATIC ISSUES

America didn’t “fall back in love” with cocaine. America never quit. We didn’t ghost coke, we just stopped posting about it on Instagram while fentanyl and opioids hogged the spotlight. Now headlines are breathlessly announcing the “cocaine comeback” like it’s Fleetwood Mac reuniting. The reality is that cocaine never left the tour bus.

In 2023, roughly 5 million Americans admitted to using cocaine. That’s basically everyone in South Carolina, but instead of church picnics, it’s nosebleeds and awkward bathroom breaks. Cocaine-related deaths have quadrupled since the early 2000s, but hey, who’s counting when the bathroom stalls are busy?

The Mile High (and Then Some) City

Let’s talk about Colorado, specifically Denver, which has turned being “#1 in cocaine use” into a recurring headline. In 2022 and 2023, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health put Colorado at the very top of the nation for cocaine use, over 3% of adults admitted to using. That’s one in 30 Coloradans. Forget Rocky Mountain highs, we’re talking Rocky Mountain rails.

Local outlets like Westword have practically made it an annual tradition with headlines reading “Colorado Tops the U.S. in Cocaine Use … Again.” It’s like winning a championship nobody brags about at the parade. Except Denver? Denver brags. Somewhere between LoDo bars, Red Rocks tailgates, and bathroom lines that stretch longer than the actual concert lines, the city manages to embody the most on-brand “Mile High” behavior possible.

Denver isn’t just the Mile High City anymore. It’s the “Mile High and One Bump for the Road” City.

Why Now?

• Coke is in surplus. Cartels are producing so much cocaine it’s practically Costco-sized. Buy one kilo, get one free.
• Party logic. Weed is legal, mushrooms are trending, fentanyl is terrifying, so coke suddenly looks like the “clean” option. Spoiler alert, it’s not.
• Stigma fatigue. America got tired of yelling about opioids. While we were distracted, coke slipped back into the room like your sketchy ex who says, “I’ve changed.” (It hasn’t.)

Death by Surprise

The joke and it’s a dark one is that most “cocaine overdoses” now aren’t even from pure cocaine. They’re fentanyl-laced or it shows up and is packaged as “Pink-cocaine.” That bump in the club bathroom isn’t just a bad idea, it’s Russian roulette with a party straw.

Meanwhile, treatment options for cocaine use are about as effective as a “Live, Laugh, Love” poster. No FDA-approved meds, no miracle pill. Just therapy, motivational pep talks, and a pat on the back if you survive the weekend.

America’s Relationship Status With Coke

Let’s be honest, cocaine isn’t just a short term fling for America. It’s the toxic long-term partner we keep sneaking back to. We pretended to move on, opioids were the bad boy, fentanyl was the fatal attraction, but cocaine’s always been there, waiting in the wings with a smug grin and a new dealer.

And Denver?

Denver is the ringleader.

Colorado leads the nation in cocaine use more reliably than the Broncos lead in disappointment. If there’s a bad habit to excel at, Denver climbs that leaderboard like it’s hiking a fourteener.

The Punchline We Don’t Want

So here’s where we’re at, America never broke up with cocaine. We just took a smoke break. Now it’s back in the headlines, back in the bloodstream, and back on Colorado’s resume.

Denver is already embracing it like a hometown hero except this hero doesn’t sign autographs, it just empties your bank account and ruins your septum.

The question isn’t whether America is in love with coke again.

The question is whether we’ll admit it before the next obituary stats drop.

Until then, Denver’s holding the crown as America’s cocaine capital proving once again that if there’s a line to be snorted, the Mile High City will always be first.